RB crisis
“Shitty”: Victory ultimatum from stimulus figure Werner
Leipzig’s Timo Werner finds clear words for the crisis at RB. photo
© Hendrik Schmidt/dpa
RB Leipzig’s drawing board football is pretty to look at – but unsuccessful. Coach Domenico Tedesco is in trouble after boss criticism and a lack of points.
“Shitty”. Timo Werner couldn’t ignore the new Leipzig faecal vocabulary either.
Frustrated by a denied penalty and unnerved by the unexpected result crisis and the worst start to the season in their own Bundesliga history, the international spoke plainly after RB’s 2-1 draw at the incredibly cheeky 1. FC Union Berlin. “I don’t want to say that hard times are coming, but I think we urgently need to win a game,” said the Chelsea returnee after just two points from three games, demanding a quick turnaround for RB in the Bundesliga.
His currently unlucky coach Domenico Tedesco, who was unable to carry the glory of the DFB Cup victory into the new season, lectured at the same time in the foyer of the stadium at the Alte Försterei, explaining in detail his tactics, which from his point of view unfortunately failed, soberly and smoothly, as if he held a presentation at a manager seminar. But then the 36-year-old was suddenly caught on the wrong foot.
RB boss in the cabin
Tedesco was confronted with a cabin visit from club boss Oliver Mintzlaff, which goal scorer Willi Orban reported frankly. “He’s often with us in the dressing room, he was there all week, talked to us. He trusts us, gives us a good feeling. Everything’s good there,” Orban said of the brilliant relationship with the executive floor. Confronted with this statement, the eyes of the apparently unsuspecting Tedesco flashed briefly and the static facial expressions became lopsided for a very short time. It was only afterwards that it turned out that Mintzlaff was not in the dressing room, but had only spoken to some players in the professional wing of the academy.
Good for Tedesco, because he can’t afford to lose control now. He had just emphasized for the umpteenth time that there were no problems between him and the mighty Mintzlaff, who, with his clear criticism of the “crappy start to the season” before the Union humiliation, had caused a lot of fuss and put Tedesco under pressure . “I was asked about it in all interviews, it’s not an issue for us, we’re trying to work in a focused way. We’ll do that next week,” promised Tedesco.
Werner had bigger concerns than the insults roared with fervor by the Union fans, who surprisingly were more reprimanded by Berlin coach Urs Fischer than by his own coach Tedesco. “They shouldn’t be below the belt,” said the RB coach, but that’s exactly what they were. Meanwhile, Werner had to deal with the ordinary style set by Mintzlaff. Of course, “crappy” is a “hard word”. But: “In the end it was a shitty start,” said the 26-year-old.
RB with drawing board football
In the sporting search for clues to the RB crisis, Tedesco stuck to his tactical guidelines. “No passes in the red zone,” he ordered. But they were played in front of the Blitz goals by Jordan Sibatcheu (32nd) and Sheraldo Becker (38th). With detailed analyzes of his drawing board football, Tedesco covered up fundamental questions. Is Christopher Nkunku losing pace and brilliance alongside Timo Werner? Is the remaining defense, which Mintzlaff also focused on, a fundamental problem? And: Can Tedesco change the mood as quickly as Werner requested?
Another setback on Saturday against VfL Wolfsburg, which is also still without a win, would be, well, pretty modest for RB and its coach. The shine of the first title in the club’s history, from which Tedesco still draws, could quickly wear off. Even if the players don’t want to hear anything about discussions about the coach’s job. “Of course that’s absurd. Last season we won the trophy and were all cheered for,” said international Marcel Halstenberg. “That’s the way it is in football, it happens very quickly. But I’ll ignore that.”